Between the Devil and Me
by Brandy Camel
Summary: Songfic. SasuSaku. Sasuke's been having more nightmares than usual since the day he left Konoha, but why is Sakura the only one he can make out standing between him and Orochimaru's promise of power? Oneshot.


**Between the Devil and Me**

**Songfic by Brandy Camel**

**Author's Notes:** So the time is come that I churn something Naruto-related out. I've got two others in the works, but one is rated NC-17 for mature themes (and shall thus be found elsewhere when finished, maybe here ifI tone it down and rate it M)and the other I can't find what I wrote down. D'oh!Anyway, I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto rocks, and I love the SasuSaku pairing. If you don't, then don't read this. XP This is a short work because I've had this idea in my mind and I just can't get rid of it. Oh, and the song is by Alan Jackson and I've known the lyrics since I was eight. It's country; so sue me, I'm a Western gal. XD Oh, and I took a little creative liberty and am interpreting the song a little differently. So there's no sex scene, those of you who are expecting it. XP

_This world can take you by the hand  
And tempt the soul of any man_

Uchiha Sasuke was not stupid. No, a lot of people believed he was highly intelligent. However, that did not exempt him from making bad decisions.

_  
But you can choose your path  
There's two roads you can take_

He had chosen the path of revenge. He felt he had chosen it years and years ago, the day his clan was slaughtered by his brother. But truthfully, he had chosen it the day he had turned his back on Konoha to join Orochimaru. He had chosen it the day he left _her_.

_One way is right and one is wrong  
The flesh is weak but love is strong_

After he left, he knew he'd made the wrong decision. But the surge of power running through his body from the curse seal granted to him by his new sensei was far too much for his conscience to argue against. It didn't matter who he left behind, because he knew one day he'd succeed in killing Itachi. However, he realized while in pursuit of the missing nin that he missed something. He was missing something. And it wasn't something power could give him.

_And she's all I see  
Between the devil and me_

At night, he still had nightmares. He had nightmares ever since he was little, but after moving to the Hidden Village of the Sound, they were different. They were more frequent, and piled onto the ones of slaughter he already had. Now, they involved the whole of Konoha, not just his clan, and Orochimaru, not Itachi.

And the one single figure he was always positive he could make out… was _her_.

_The gates of hell swing open wide  
__Invitin' me to stop inside  
I'll be your friend he calls again,  
__I know it's him_

It was just like the day he left a few years ago. She was standing behind him, sobbing, pleading him to stay. The scenario was the same moment to moment… Up until he turned around to look at her. Behind her was that lithe, snake-like form of Orochimaru, his eyes slit and glowing yellow in the night. A sinister smirk was plastered across his gaunt face, and Sasuke could only remember being so frightened when he was looking into the eyes of his brother, not this beast.

"Come with me, Sasuke. Come to the Sound," he murmured it, almost in a hiss; when Sasuke woke up, he knew it was his overactive imagination making it so snake-like. Within the dream, Sakura was oblivious to this presence, and her speech continued just as it had in reality.

"I love you!"

_The flames are spreadin' everywhere  
But through the smoke  
I see her there_

She was like a barrier against this nightmare, but it always broke before he woke up. She always disappeared at the end of her speech, where he was supposed to sneak behind her, thank her, and knock her out. This was different. In this dream, she simply faded away, and even if he tried to reach out to touch her, to keep her there as if he needed her to survive, there was nothing concrete he could grasp. After all, she wasn't in the Sound Village.

Around him, Konoha burst into flames and Orochimaru laughed. It was as simple as that. He cackled gleefully, and Sasuke whipped around wildly, calling out for her. No matter how loud he cried or where he looked, even if he ran through his quickly incinerating home town, she was nowhere to be found.

_She's all I see  
Between the devil and me_

After collapsing helplessly to the ground, he would wake up, the shrill screeching laugh of Orochimaru ringing in his ears. He wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be in Konoha. He needed to go where he belonged.

Having dealt with this dream night after night for nearly three years, Sasuke finally broke. He couldn't take it anymore. He needed to flee. For the first time in his life, he needed, wanted, and knew he had to flee.

Sound nin chased him through the forests of the Fire Country. It wasn't far, now. He knew he was getting closer. Ducking over a ridge, he fell, whipping around to face his pursuers and filling them with kunai and shuriken before rebounding off a branch and continuing his trek.

It was a simple matter to find a weakly guarded section of the Konoha wall, and even simpler to knock out the guard on duty. They'd never know he'd been here. If it hadn't been for the strict watch Orochimaru had set on Sasuke's room, the Sound wouldn't have known he'd left, either.

He went to the first place he remembered; the bridge that Team 7 almost always had met for their missions. He closed his eyes, breathing in the night air and refamiliarizing himself with the feeling of Konoha. Yes, it had a feeling. There is always a feeling to the place you belong. And there are memories you never forget.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember where he was supposed to go next. He knew where he _wanted_ to go. He wanted to go to her. She'd be the only one willing to see him anyway. She'd forgive him, wouldn't she? He'd heard stories about her and Naruto continuing to search for him after he left. He winced at the idea of going to see Naruto; the dobe would probably beat the tar out of him rather than welcome him home. But Sakura… She could help him, couldn't she?

He grimaced at his thoughts. 'Help. I want… help,' he scowled at himself. He never wanted or needed help before. But now, he knew. He needed help. And he believed only she could give it to him.

The problem now was that he had no idea where she lived. Did she still live with her parents? Maybe, but what was the use? It was not like he'd ever made the effort to find out where she lived. Before, he hadn't really cared. He sighed dejectedly and sat on the edge of the bridge, thunking his forehead against the bar in front of him and looking down into the water. The nearly full moon reflected in the ripples and he sighed. At least it was nice out… and somewhere inside, a little voice wished she was there too. He smirked to himself; Sakura liked silly things like good weather. She probably thought they were romantic.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize he had company until he heard the very audible sniffle to his right. He leapt to his feet, automatically falling into stance, but faltering when he saw the moonlight reflect off the pale pink of a kunoichi's hair. No one else had hair like that.

"…How long were you standing there?" he asked quietly, and silently he was taking her in; her shorter hair, which seemed to suit her well, and her more flattering outfit, which he couldn't seem to take his eyes off. He forced himself to control his hormones; now was not the time.

"I'm n-not sure," she whispered hoarsely, her tears choking her words. "I've kind of been in shock since I realized it had to be you…" Her face was completely stained with her tears and there was some kind of object clasped in her left hand. Her right was fisted at her chest, as if preventing her heart from leaping from its confines. After a few moments of them simply staring at each other, she spoke again. "What… in the world are you doing here?"

Sasuke hesitated. What was he supposed to say? _I keep having nightmares with you in them, and I had to come so they'd stop? _That sounded stupid. _I love you?_ That sounded even stupider.

"I…" he started, but wasn't exactly given the chance to finish as Sakura flung herself at him and buried her face into his chest, sobbing hysterically. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he awkwardly stood there, letting her do as she pleased.

"Kami, Sasuke, I missed you… I… We've been looking… for you so long…" her statements were all broken by loud sobs, and he could feel her tears beginning to soak into the now thin cloth of his Uchiha clan shirt. He closed his eyes and then very tentatively wrapped his arms around her shoulders, easier than he expected to as he'd grown much taller than she had.

"I know. I heard…" he didn't know what to say. He knew there were a lot of things he had to say eventually, and that he'd even have to go see the others after some time. But right now, he had what he needed right there in his arms. She just didn't know it yet. He let her cry until she calmed down, his hands slowly becoming accustomed to being so close to her and rubbing her back slowly in comfort.

_I hold her in my arms tonight  
So safe and warm I close my eyes_

"Sasuke…" Finally, after what seemed ages, she spoke again, looking up tentatively at him, her eyes still puffy and red from all her tears. "Why are you here?" She was calm enough to speak properly, so he figured now would be alright. She wouldn't collapse from being in such an overemotional state.

"I… came to see you," he said slowly, and watched her eyes widen in astonishment. He forced himself not to smirk; he was right. She would forgive him. "Sakura… I missed…" he bit his tongue. Why was he saying these things? "…Konoha," he finished lamely, and the girl wrapped so tightly around him gave a confused look. She didn't seem to care much for his words, though. Slowly, her arms released their hold from around his neck and they slid down to her sides. He let her go and she took a step to the side, looking towards the water.

"Well… You're home now… You're back…" she glanced at him, then as if remembering something, shot her eyes back down to her one clasped hand. She brought it up as an offering. "This is… yours," What she held was his old forehead protector, the slash from the battle with Naruto still predominant across the etched leaf of Konoha. Sasuke stared.

"You… still have this?" he raised an eyebrow and slowly took the proffered "gift." "Why?"

Even in the darkness, he could see her cheeks slowly fill with a reddish tint. "I… wanted to keep it… In case you came back…" she smiled softly and something unfamiliar stirred in his chest. "And you did," she finished quietly.

He shifted uncomfortably, but another questioned bothered him. "And you had it now and here… why?"

It was Sakura's turn to shift uncomfortably. "I come down here… every night… It's… kind of a ritual, I guess you'd say," she blushed harder, and Sasuke once more suppressed a jovial expression, this time to chuckle. "I keep… I mean, I kept… wishing you'd be here and I could give this back to you. And now I can," she sounded somewhat happy, but also sad at the same time. Maybe perhaps because she no longer had a piece of him close. 'Well, I can fix that,' he thought.

"…Thank you," he said quietly and blinked several times as Sakura immediately fell into a defensive position. He raised an eyebrow quizzically. The color of a ripe beet, she scratched behind her head apologetically.

"Sorry… It's just… the last time you said that, I fell unconscious… And then I lost you for two and a half years," she closed her eyes almost mournfully.

Sasuke stood there for a moment, stunned, then laughed. He genuinely laughed. And now Sakura stared. She'd never heard him laugh before. Was he even allowed to laugh? Smiling, he stepped towards her carefully.

"Don't worry. I won't… be leaving this time," his eyes were different when he said this and it took her breath away. Before she knew what was happening, as it all occurred so fast, he had tilted up her chin and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

Naturally, the Uchiha boy had no clue what he was doing. He just prayed it was right.

And it must have been. Sakura's eyes filled with tears of absolute joy before she wrapped her arms back around his neck and kissed him back. They stayed that way for a while, a gentle breeze passing over and ruffling his loose clothing and their hair, as if it were a reminder that this was not a dream.

_And a cool breeze blows  
'cross our bodies in the dark_

After several moments, they parted, and he held her close against his chest. He didn't want to say anything; he wasn't good at those things and he didn't want to ruin the moment.

"I love you, Sasuke," she whispered. She said it so carefully that he wondered how long it had taken her to work up the courage to repeat the words he had heard only once before. He took in a deep breath and, instead of answering, lifted her head again and kissed her forehead affectionately. She seemed content with that answer, as she immediately snuggled into his arms again.

A while later found them curled together in Sakura's apartment, simply enjoying the feeling of being in each others' arms. Sasuke closed his eyes. Here, it was safe. For once, he wasn't keeping _her_ safe. Whether she realized it or not, she was keeping him safe.

_Outside her reach is my concern  
Somewhere I know a fire burns_

He knew in the morning there'd be hell to pay. He'd have to worm his way out of getting jailed for being a missing nin and a traitor. He'd still have to look behind his back for pursuing Sound nin. He probably brought a lot of trouble to Konoha, and specifically, to Sakura. In his mind, he justified it by blaming Orochimaru.

_  
And she's all I see  
Between the devil and me_

But somehow that sneaky bastard didn't matter. In fact, right now, he didn't even think of him. All he thought about was the soft and happily snoozing kunoichi in his arms.

_The gates of hell swing open  
Wide invitin' me to stop inside  
I'll be your friend he calls  
Again, I know it's him  
The flames are spreadin' everywhere  
But through the smoke  
I see her there  
She's all I see  
Between the devil and me _

The gates of hell swing open  
Wide invitin' me to step inside  
She's all I see  
Between the devil and me


End file.
